recipe

Do you ever find a recipe online and go, “Oh, if that actually tastes good, that would be amazing!”? Because that’s exactly what happened to me when I found this recipe for cauliflower alfredo from Oh She Glows (a crazy fantastic vegan food blog if you didn’t know!)

The ingredient list is fairly simple, and you probably have most of the ingredients laying around your house. Maybe you don’t have nutritional yeast in your pantry (but you should) but everything else is pretty plain old simple.

I made this recipe a week ago and instantly fell in love with it. Alfredo is a bit of a “fear food” for me because I used to eat it by the pound when I was a not-so-in-shape kid and now that I know just how bad it can be for you, I generally avoid it.

Here’s my sad, un-stylized version. I was just so hungry and had no pretty accoutrements to add to it! Plus, I was STARVING.

Full disclosure: I did un-veganize this recipe because it calls for unflavored almond milk, but I didn’t have any so I used 1% milk instead. Honestly though, I can’t see that change having a huge difference in flavor. I did add extra salt to the recipe because I felt like it brought out the flavors more.

Because I was scared this pasta might just take like stinky cauliflower, I used regular linguine noodles, but now that I know how good it is, I totally feel comfortable using a brown rice or whole wheat or quinoa or zoodle noodle instead!

In fact, let’s just go crazy! I bet this sauce would taste fantastic on chicken (also not vegan 😉 ) fish or some grilled portabellos. The world is your oyster!

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Okay, I want to share something with you that I discovered the other day out of necessity (pretty much like all my food discoveries). For my slim down/detox, I am supposed to eat a collard green wrap every day. First of all, using a collard green leaf as a wrap is a genius idea, that I did not come up with, but I highly recommend. Anyway, in these wraps you’re obviously supposed to use some kind of protein such as tempeh, chicken, shrimp etc.

Well, I really didn’t feel like cooking anything so I took some already cooked quinoa and mixed it with hummus, vegetables, and some spicy mustard and made a Quinoa Salad (like a tuna salad or chicken salad). And let me tell you, it is stupid easy, and crazy delicious <——— a winning combination, in my book.

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Okay, I don’t know about you, but when someone says that they made their own soup, it just sounds legit to me. It’s like they’re saying they made their own pasta or grew their own vegetables. This is probably because we NEVER made homemade soup in my house growing up, so it seems so extravagant to me. With all the fall weather I have been on a major soup kick lately but soup is expensive and high in sodium. And the low sodium ones taste like nothing (someone had to say it).

Anyway, since I’ve been tinkering around in the kitchen, I have made some pretty delicious soups and I wanted to share the recipes with you.

Carrot, Sweet Potato, Ginger Soup with Avocado

Ingredients:

makes 4-6 servings

2 cups carrots, peeled and chopped

2 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 white or yellow onion chopped

1 avocado

1 inch ginger minced

2 cloves garlic minced

4 cups water

2 tbs coconut oil

Directions:

First add oil to your pot and saute the garlic, ginger, and onions for about 5 minutes. Add sweet potatoes and carrots. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer soup on medium heat for about 25 minutes or until carrots and potatoes are soft. Add salt to taste.

Let soup cool some. Transfer to food processor and blend until desired consistency. Dice 1/4 of an avocado for each individual bowl of soup. Enjoy!

Garbage Broth (sounds delicious, right?)

Oops I didn’t take a picture. SPOILER: It looks like broth. Here’s a picture from emmycooks.com instead!

Okay this isn’t really a soup, recipe per se. But it is incredibly good to know about! When you are chopping up onions, celery, and carrots never throw out the leftover odds and ends. Instead, throw them into freezer bag and freeze them. Once the bag is filled up with all your “garbage bits” you can make a really simple and delicious vegetable stock from them.

Ingredients:

makes about 2 quarts

Onion ends (skin optional. Keeping the skin on will make your broth a deep golden color)

Carrot tops (greens removed)

Celery ends and pieces

2 Bay leaves

Garlic powder

About 8 cups water

Directions:

Add frozen pieces into pot. Cover with water. Keep at low boil with lid on for about 2-4 hours. Add salt to taste. Strain out vegetables using cheesecloth, strainer, or the pot lid (like me). Viola!

Heat olive oil in pot. Add garlic, onion, and sausage. Saute for about 5 minutes. Next add kale in parts so it can cook down. Next add the cannelloni beans and liquids with bay leaf. Remember, the red pepper flakes will get spicier as the soup cooks! Let simmer at low boil for about 45 minutes or until the flavors have blended to your liking. Top with some grated Parmesan cheese! Bon appetite!